ktjhlenschmidt



UNirnD 'sTATns PATENT muon.

W. KUHLENSCHMIDT, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

BUTTON-FASTENING.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 32,136, dated April 23, 1861.

To all whom it 'may concern:

Be it known that I, IV. KUHLENsci-IMIDT, of the city, county and Stateof New York, have invented a new and ImprovedF astening for Buttons,&c.; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and

` exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, forming a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1represents a side elevation of my invention before it enters the clothor other fabric to which it is to be attached and in the positionwhichit must assume in order to secure to said fabric. Fig. 2 is a similarview of my invention after it has entered the fabric.

Similar letters of reference in bothviews indicate corresponding parts.

The principal object of my invention is to obviate the necessity ofcutting a hole into the fabric for the purpose of attaching a button,stud, brooch or other article to a gar-l ment by means of a coil of wireattached to the inner side of said button and also to retain the buttonfirmly to the fabric after it has been attached and` prevent itswaddling or swinging to and fro, or getting loose spontaneously. Y

The invention consists in arranging on the inner side or collet of abutton or other similar device a conical spiral spring with a sharpcurved point in such a manner that Said spring upon being pressed downin the proper position upon the cloth or other fabric to which it is tobe attached, opens its own hole by means of its sharp point and that thefabric after the button or other device has been attached to it byturning the same in the proper direction is firmly clamped between theinner side or collet of said button or other device and the upper ringof the conical spring and the button is prevented waddling or swingingto and fro and at the same time the point by heilig Acurved down isprevented from catching in the cloth or other fabric after the button orother device is attached.

To enable those skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willproceed to describe it with reference to the drawing.

The conical spiral springA is fastened to the button B in the placegenerally employed by the loop or eyelet, that serves to secure saidbutton to the fabric by means of thread and needle. Said spring is woundin such a. manner that it gradually approaches the inner side or colletof the button from its center to thepoint and the last or uppermost ringof the spring approaches theinner side of the button so closely that onattaching the button to al garment the fabric is firmly clamped betweensaid upper ring of the spring and the inner side of the button asclearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing. At the same time by having thecenter of the spiral farther from the inner side of the button than theouter ring, the button is prevented disengaging spontaneously for itwill be observed that in order to disengage it, it is necessary to exerta strain on it sutliciently strong to carry the center of the springabove its outer ring. Before this is accomplished, the button may beturned around and around without being able to disengage it. The end aof the spring A is sharp pointed and it is curved or bent so that saidpoint is brought into the same plane or nearly so with the vcenter ofthe spring.

By making the end sharp pointed, the spring, when pressed upon thefabric to which the button is to be attached, will open its own hole,which fact renders my fastening superior to any other fasteningheretofore used for the saine purpose. I am well aware that coils ofwire have been used long ago for the purpose of fastening buttons orstuds, but every one of them requires a hole or holes in the fabricthrough which the end of the coil must be passed before the button orother device can be fastened. Such holes have to be protected either bysewing around them or by means of metallic eyes and the main object ofmy invention,l namely to save time, is lost. It will t-ake more time toprepare the hole for a coil without the needle pointed end than it wouldto fasten the button in the ordinary manner with thread and needle.

A device such as described in the patent of John P. Derby March 24,1857., may be very convenient for shirt studs, but it could never beused to advantage for securing buttons to a coat or vest or to any othergarment. By making the end of the spring sharppointed, the button can beattached to any place of a garment without loss of time the peculiarform of my spring retains it and prevents it from ever gettingdisengaged spontaneously.

The point a is turned down or away from the inner side of the button asclearly shown in the drawing so that when the button is turned aroundafter it has been attached to the garment, the point is preventedcatching in the fabric.

In order to attach the button to any desired place, it is brought in aSlightly inclined position so as to throw the point down upon the fabricas shown in Fig. l of the drawing. The point is now forced through thefabric and by turning the but* ton around, the spring is graduallyscrewed in until it assumes the position shown in Fig. 2, when thebutton is firmly secured.

ments as this is not new and forms no part of my present invention; but

IVhat I do claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent-is:-

The needle-pointed conical spiral spring A attached to the inner side ofa button B or other similar article as and for the purpose shown anddescribed.

W. KUIILENSCHMIDT.

Vitnesses M. M. LIVINGSTON, C. W. Cow'rAN.

